The Arranged Marriage (A One Direction Fan Fiction)

Chapter 34

Melissa's POV

I froze in my spot, not able to move. What am I supposed to tell Liam? What am I supposed to tell everyone else? I keep repeating that over and over in my head. Because really, I've got no clue.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Niall asks me, looking concerned. I don't answer him. Not because I don't want to, but because I can't. And even if I could, I wouldn't know what to tell him. "Melissa, it will be okay. He'll understand."

I finally get my voice back and I say, "What if he doesn't? What if he doesn't understand and he hates me? I can't lose my best friend."

"I've known him for quite some time, Mel. I know he won't hate you because you don't like him like that." Niall assures me.

"Fine." I sigh, still not wanting to tell Liam.

You know the phrase 'speak of the devil and he shall appear'? Well it works for more than just the devil. Right as I'm about to get up and head inside so I can break the news to Liam, Liam walks out the back door -something I'd forgotten about in my search for Niall- and walks towards the swingset.

"Hey guys." Liam smiles at Niall and I. "You should have gone out with us; we had a blast."

"I'm glad you had fun. This really is a lovely place." I smile back weakly then look at my feet.

"It's strange that we've been here for so long and I didn't even know that there's a swingset out here. I would've been out here much more often." Liam comments, leaning on the swingset.

Niall chuckles for some strange reason and agrees with Liam, saying, "Same here, mate. It's so calm out here. Especially with the weather the way it is."

The three of us sit in silence for quite some time, and I'm surprised that no one has come looking for us yet. The silence is nice, but also awkward. Although I'm not sure if it's just awkward for me or if it's actually awkward for Niall and Liam as well. It's driving me insane.

"I can tell that you have something you want to tell me, Mel." Liam admits. "You can tell me."

"I can't." I shake my head.

"Don't you trust me?" Liam asks me.

"I do, I just can't tell you."

Niall stands up and tells me, "It's now or never," then he leaves. Liam takes Nialls spot, sitting on the swing next to me.

"What is it that you have to tell me?"

"Will you promise not to hate me?"

"Why would I ever hate you?" Liam furrows his eyebrows.

"I-," I start, but stop, not knowing how to word what I want to say. "You. Niall. I just-I don't." Why is it so hard to tell him?

"What about Niall and I?" Liam questions me, not understanding what I'm saying. Hell, I don't even know what I'm saying.

"You're the best friend I've ever had -you know that, right? My best friend." I put emphasis on 'friend'.

He looks at me, even more confused and says, "Yeah, I know."

"You're my friend. I'm your friend. But, Liam, that's all we can be. I can't even tell you that's permanent, because I don't know that. I don't want to give you false hope, though. My heart belongs to someone else right now." I ramble.

"Niall, right?" He asks, looking wounded. "I knew this would happen. The whole cliche arranged marriage thing."

"I didn't know until now, Liam. I'm so sorry. I wish I could do this without hurting you." I look at my lap, fiddling with my fingers.

"It's New Year's Eve, you know. I guess Niall's going to get that kiss at midnight."

"We aren't together."

"Not yet."

"I wouldn't do that to you anyways, Liam. I'm not like that." I assure him. "And I'm not kissing anyone anytime soon."

"Is it strange that I knew I wasn't going to have a chance?" He chuckles sadly.

I look up at Liam and say, "You'll find someone who derserves you, Li. I don't derserve someone as amazing as you, even just as a friend."

"You've always known what to say." Liam smiles.

"I'm pretty sure that's you."

~~~~

Liam and I sat and talked for a while. I'm pretty sure he got annoyed at me becauses of how many times I kept telling him that I was sorry and that he'd find someone much better than me. After we finished talking we walked inside with smiles on our faces.

"Told you so." Niall comments when he sees us.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." I roll my eyes at him.

My parents walk into the room and Niall asks, "What's for dinner?"

"I was thinking of a pizza caserole. No one's a vegetarian or lactose intolerant, are they?" My mom answers. We shake our heads no, not knowing any of us who are either. "Alright then. I'll start on that now."

"So, when are you two going to tell the others? I mean, assuming you two are going to go along with the wedding now." Liam questions. Niall and I look at each other, Niall shrugging his shoulders.

"There's always something, isn't there?" I grunt, tired of stuff always coming up.

"Do you two even want to continue with the wedding? You two are still awfully young." Liam asks us another question.

"Really, I've got no clue. I'd like to start dating him before I think of marrying him." I tell the two boys.

Niall nods in agreement and says, "Yeah, that would be nice."

"Although I'm sure you two wouldn't die if you got married in April." Liam says, stating the truth -or at least the truth for me. I really don't think I'd die if I had to marry Niall. He's not that bad of a guy.

"Nah, I don't think we'd mind." Niall chuckles, making my heart flutter.

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AN: Well...this chapter was interesting. I hope you guys like it! I'm going to try to end this soon. Now I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to see at least one Nelissa date before this book ends.

Thanks for reading! Vote or comment if you'd like :)

Love you guys!!

-CookiesandBrownies